Systems and methods of memory and memory operation are disclosed, such as providing a circuit including a local address driver voltage source for memory decoding. In one exemplary implementation, an illustrative circuit may comprise a first buffer and a capacitor. The first buffer may comprise a power input and a ground input. The capacitor may comprise a first terminal connected to the power input of the first buffer and a second terminal connected to the ground input of the first buffer. When the first buffer draws a current from the power input, at least a portion of the current may be supplied by the capacitor.
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9. A circuit comprising:
a first complementary buffer configured to deliver a first data signal to a memory circuit; and
a capacitor coupled to the first buffer so that when the first buffer draws a current from a power source, at least a portion of the current is supplied by the capacitor;
a second complementary buffer configured to deliver a second data signal to the memory circuit; and
an inverter coupled to the second buffer configured to supply the second data signal to the second buffer;
wherein the capacitor is also coupled to the second buffer such that, via coupling of the power input to the second buffer that draws a current supply, a current is supplied from the second buffer to the capacitor; and
wherein via electrical coupling of the current supplied to the capacitor from the second buffer and the current supplied to the first buffer from the capacitor, the capacitor is cyclically charged and discharged to recycle current between the first buffer and the second buffer.
18. A method of operating a circuit comprising:
receiving a first data signal at a line input of a first complementary buffer of a memory address circuit;
drawing a current, with the first buffer, when the first data signal is received at the line input of the first buffer, wherein at least a portion of the current drawn by the first buffer is supplied by a capacitor coupled to the first buffer via a first terminal of the capacitor;
receiving a second data signal at an inverter of the memory address circuit;
outputting, with the inverter, an inverted second data signal to a line input of a second complementary buffer of the memory address circuit;
drawing a current, via the second buffer, when the inverted second data signal is received at the line input of the second buffer; and
supplying a current, via the second buffer, to a second terminal of the capacitor when the inverted second data signal is received at the line input of the second buffer;
wherein via the current supplied to the second terminal of the capacitor from the second buffer and the current supplied to the first buffer from the first terminal of the capacitor, the capacitor is cyclically charged and discharged to recycle current between the first buffer and the second buffer.
1. A circuit comprising:
a first complementary buffer comprising a power input and a ground input;
a capacitor comprising a first terminal connected to the power input of the first buffer and a second terminal connected to the ground input of the first buffer so that when the first buffer draws a current from the power input, at least a portion of the current is supplied by the capacitor from the first terminal;
a second complementary buffer comprising a power input, a ground input, and a line input; and
an inverter connected to the line input of the second buffer;
wherein the first terminal of the capacitor is also connected to the power input of the second buffer and the second terminal of the capacitor is also connected to the ground input of the second buffer such that, via coupling of the power input to the second buffer that draws a current supply, a current is supplied from the ground input of the second buffer to the second terminal of the capacitor; and
wherein via electrical coupling of the current supplied to the second terminal of the capacitor from the ground input of the second buffer and the current supplied to the first buffer from the first terminal of the capacitor, the capacitor is cyclically charged and discharged to recycle current between the first buffer and the second buffer.
2. The circuit of
the first terminal of the capacitor is connected to the power input of the first buffer such that a line distance between the first terminal of the capacitor and the power input of the first buffer is minimized; and
the second terminal of the capacitor is connected to the ground input of the first buffer such that a line distance between the second terminal of the capacitor and the ground input of the first buffer is minimized.
3. The circuit of
the first terminal of the capacitor is connected to the power input of the second buffer such that a line distance between the first terminal of the capacitor and the power input of the second buffer is minimized; and
the second terminal of the capacitor is connected to the ground input of the second buffer such that a line distance between the second terminal of the capacitor and the ground input of the second buffer is minimized.
4. The circuit of
the first buffer comprises a line input;
the inverter comprises a line input;
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the first buffer when a data signal is present on the line input of the first buffer; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the second buffer when a data signal is present on the line input of the inverter.
5. The circuit of
the first buffer comprises a line output:
the second buffer comprises a line output;
the circuit further comprises:
a storage element connected to the line output of the first buffer; and
a storage element connected to the line output of the second buffer;
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the first buffer in response to a command to access the storage element connected to the line output of the first buffer; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the second buffer in response to a command to access the storage element connected to the line output of the second buffer.
6. The circuit of
a global power line connected to the power input of the first buffer, the power input of the second buffer, or a combination thereof, the global power line comprising a resistance; and
a global ground line connected to the ground input of the first buffer, the ground input of the second buffer, or a combination thereof, the global ground line comprising a resistance.
7. The circuit of
8. The circuit of
10. The circuit of
the capacitor is coupled to the first buffer via two capacitor terminals; and
the capacitor is coupled to the first buffer such that line distances between each of the two capacitor terminals and the first buffer are minimized.
11. The circuit of
the capacitor is coupled to the second buffer via two capacitor terminals; and
the capacitor is coupled to the second buffer such that line distances between each of the two capacitor terminals and the second buffer are minimized.
12. The circuit of
the first buffer receives the first data signal via a first line input; and
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power source when the first data signal is present on the first line input.
13. The circuit of
the inverter is coupled to a second line input of the second buffer; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power source when the second data signal is present on the second line input.
14. The circuit of
the first buffer is coupled to a first portion of the memory circuit;
the second buffer is coupled to a second portion of the memory circuit:
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power source in response to a command to access the first portion of the memory circuit; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power source in response to a command to access the second portion of the memory circuit.
15. The circuit of
a global power line coupled to the first buffer and the second buffer, the global power line comprising a resistance; and
a global ground line coupled to the first buffer and the second buffer, the global ground line comprising a resistance.
16. The circuit of
17. The circuit of
19. The circuit of
the first terminal of the capacitor is connected to the power input of the second buffer such that a line distance between the first terminal of the capacitor and the power input of the second buffer is minimized; and
the second terminal of the capacitor is connected to the ground input of the second buffer such that a line distance between the second terminal of the capacitor and the ground input of the second buffer is minimized.
20. The circuit of
the first buffer comprises a line input;
the inverter comprises a line input;
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the first buffer when a data signal is present on the line input of the first buffer; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the second buffer when a data signal is present on the line input of the inverter.
21. The circuit of
the first buffer comprises a line output:
the second buffer comprises a line output;
the circuit further comprises:
a storage element connected to the line output of the first buffer; and
a storage element connected to the line output of the second buffer;
the first buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the first buffer in response to a command to access the storage element connected to the line output of the first buffer; and
the second buffer is configured to draw the current from the power input of the second buffer in response to a command to access the storage element connected to the line output of the second buffer.
22. The circuit of
a global power line connected to the power input of the first buffer, the power input of the second buffer, or a combination thereof, the global power line comprising a resistance; and
a global ground line connected to the ground input of the first buffer, the ground input of the second buffer, or a combination thereof, the global ground line comprising a resistance.
23. The circuit of
24. The circuit of
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This applications claims benefit/priority to provisional patent application No. 61/799,781, filed Mar. 15, 2013, which is incorporated herein by reference in entirety.
An appendix entitled “Appendix A” is attached hereto and incorporated by reference in its entirety.
1. Field
Innovations herein relate generally to memory and/or memory addressing and, more specifically, to systems and methods of memory and memory operation such as providing a local address driver voltage source for memory decoding.
2. Description of Related Information
High speed memory circuits may operate within tight tolerances. Multiple operations, such as read and/or write operations, may be performed within a single gigahertz-level clock cycle by a memory circuit with a one volt-level operating voltage. Operations which cause excessive voltage drain on the circuit, even in a narrow time interval, may severely reduce overall memory speed. Accordingly, preventing and/or reducing such voltage drains may result in memory circuits with high performance characteristics.
The accompanying drawings, which constitute a part of this specification, illustrate various implementations and features of the present inventions and, together with the description, help explain aspects of the innovations herein. In the drawings:
Reference will now be made in detail to the inventions herein, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The implementations set forth in the following description do not represent all implementations consistent with the claimed inventions. Instead, they are merely some examples consistent with certain aspects related to the present innovations. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.
Aspects of the innovations herein relate generally to memory and/or memory addressing, such as systems and methods providing a local address voltage source and/or a local complimentary address voltage source for high performance memory decoding operations.
All of the quadrants may be in communication with a central pre-decoder 110 into which all inbound memory addressing data may be fed from circuits external to the memory circuit 100. Four lines 120 may lead from the pre-decoder 110, one to each quadrant. In some cases the lines 120 may extend all the way from the pre-decoder 110 to the memory banks of each quadrant farthest from the pre-decoder 110. In other cases, one or more repeaters (pdec rptr) may be provided on each line 120 to boost the signal from the pre-decoder 110 to one or more of the memory banks along the line 120, as shown in this example. With one line 120 per quadrant, this example memory circuit 100 may have 92 drivers associated with each line, and 24 of those 92 drivers may be simultaneously active on any of the lines at any time. In sum, there may be as many as 96 total active busses at any time.
Even in circuits manufactured to very high tolerances, there may always be some resistance in any signal path, such as the four lines 120 of the memory circuit 100. Likewise, there may be resistance in any Vdd and/or Vss signal path used in the memory circuit 100, such as a Vdd line used to drive memory buffers, as described below. Furthermore, circuitry between a point of data input and a memory bank may add additional resistance. For example, the pre-decoder 110 may add some resistance to the memory circuit 100. As will be explained in greater detail below, resistance in some paths may impact memory circuit 100 performance.
This circuit 200 may also include a local voltage source (i.e., a capacitor 250) connected to the Vdd and Vss inputs of the buffer 210. In this example, a 10 pf capacitor 250 is used, although other capacitance values may be possible for the local capacitor 250. The 10 pf capacitor 250 is chosen to provide a capacitance that is ten times that of the load capacitance 240 of 1 pf, although other ratios may be employed. The local capacitor 250 may be connected to the buffer 210 Vdd and Vss inputs as close to the buffer 210 as possible in some embodiments in order to minimize line resistance between the capacitor 250 and the buffer 210.
The operation of the circuit 200 including the capacitor 250 is explained in greater detail below. The following explanation is directed to a variation of the circuit 200 which lacks the capacitor connected to the buffer. For example purposes, suppose the memory circuit 100 has a cycle time of 800 ps and that a complete memory decoding operation takes approximately one half cycle or 400 ps. The Rvdd may be 0.1 ohm in this example. The buffer operation may take roughly 40 ps in this example. If the buffer feeds a 1 pf memory bank, and there are 24 active drivers per line and four lines per memory circuit 100, a total capacitance of 24×4×1 pf or 96 pf (approximately 100 pf) may be seen by Vdd in a worst case. In this example, let Vdd be 1.2V. I=c*dv/dt, so the buffer operation may draw approximately 3 amps of instantaneous current. V=I*R, so a magnitude drop in Vdd may be 0.1*3=0.3V, or 25% of the nominal Vdd. A voltage drop of this magnitude may significantly impact memory circuit 100 performance.
Returning to the circuit 200 which includes the capacitor 250, while the buffer 210 is not conducting, the Vdd voltage may charge the capacitor 250. When the buffer 210 starts conducting in a memory decoding operation including the buffer operation, the capacitor 250 may discharge. Thus, the buffer 210 may receive a voltage not only from the global Vdd line, but also from the capacitor 250. The voltage from the capacitor 250 may be labeled as Vddloc (with the line from the capacitor 250 on the Vss side correspondingly labeled as Vssloc). As noted above, the local capacitor 250 may be connected to the buffer 210 Vdd and Vss nodes as close to the buffer 210 as possible. This may result in a minimal resistance between Vddloc/Vssloc and the buffer 210, and may at least partially isolate the buffer 210 from the Rvdd/Rvss and Rvddloc/Rvssloc during capacitor 250 discharge. After the capacitor 250 discharges and the buffer 210 stops conducting, the Vdd signal may recharge the capacitor 250. This may have the effect of spreading the voltage drop associated with the buffer operation over a longer portion of the memory cycle. Spreading the voltage drop may decrease the peak voltage drop magnitude and thereby increase memory circuit 100 performance.
This circuit 300 may also include a local voltage source (i.e., a capacitor 250) connected to the Vdd and Vss nodes of each buffer 210. As illustrated, one node in the circuit 300 may link one terminal of the capacitor 250 and each buffer's Vdd input, and another node in the circuit may link the other terminal of the capacitor 250 and each buffer's Vss input. The local capacitor 250 may be connected to the buffer 210 Vdd and Vss inputs as close to the buffers 210 as possible in some embodiments in order to minimize line resistance between the capacitor 250 and the buffers 210.
As discussed above, if the capacitor 250 is not present, a memory operation wherein several drivers are simultaneously active may cause a voltage drop of enough magnitude to significantly impact memory circuit 100 performance. Adding a local capacitor 250 to an individual memory address circuit 200 with one buffer 210 may reduce the magnitude of voltage drop and thereby improve memory performance. Adding a local capacitor 250 to the complimentary memory address circuit 300 as shown in
For example, consider the circuit 300 of
In the right graph 420, changes in Ivdd for an embodiment similar to those of
In addition to the above memory architecture and methods, the present inventions also include, inter alia, methods of fabricating memory devices consistent with the features and/or functionality herein, products (such as memory circuits or products embodying memory circuits), and products produced via such processes. By way of example and not limitation, methods of such fabrication may include known memory manufacturing processes in CMOS technologies involving aspects such as p-mos and n-mos transistor formation, multiple metallization layers and/or local interconnects, among others. A variety of exemplary/staple processes here, for example, being set forth in the backgrounds/disclosures of U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,794,561, 5,624,863, 5,994,178, 6,001,674, 6,117,754, 6,127,706, 6,417,549, 6,894,356, and 7,910,427 as well as U.S. patent application publication No. US2007/0287239A1, which are incorporated herein by reference.
As disclosed herein, features consistent with the present inventions may be utilized via and/or involved with computer hardware, software and/or firmware. For example, the systems and methods disclosed herein may be embodied in or used in connection with various forms including, for example, memory, data processors, such as in computing devices that also includes memory, a database, digital electronic circuitry, firmware, software, or in combinations of them. Further, while some of the disclosed implementations describe specific hardware components, systems and methods consistent with the innovations herein may be implemented in the context of any combination of hardware, software and/or firmware. Moreover, the above-noted features and other aspects and principles of the innovations herein may be implemented in various memory environments. Such environments and related applications may be specially constructed for performing the various routines, processes and/or operations according to the invention or they may include a general-purpose computer or computing platform selectively activated or reconfigured by code to provide the necessary functionality. The processes disclosed herein are not inherently related to any particular computer, network, architecture, environment, or other apparatus, and may be implemented by a suitable combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware. For example, various general-purpose machines may be used with programs written in accordance with teachings of the invention, or it may be more convenient to construct a specialized apparatus or system to perform the required methods and techniques.
Aspects of the method and system described herein, such as the logic, may be implemented as functionality programmed into any of a variety of circuitry, including programmable logic devices (“PLDs”), such as field programmable gate arrays (“FPGAs”), programmable array logic (“PAL”) devices, electrically programmable logic and memory devices and standard cell-based devices, as well as application specific integrated circuits. Some other possibilities for implementing aspects include: memory devices, microcontrollers with memory (such as EEPROM), embedded microprocessors, firmware, software, etc. Furthermore, aspects may be embodied in microprocessors having software-based circuit emulation, discrete logic (sequential and combinatorial), custom devices, fuzzy (neural) logic, quantum devices, and hybrids of any of the above device types. The underlying device technologies may be provided in a variety of component types, e.g., metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor (“MOSFET”) technologies like complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (“CMOS”), bipolar technologies like emitter-coupled logic (“ECL”), polymer technologies (e.g., silicon-conjugated polymer and metal-conjugated polymer-metal structures), mixed analog and digital, and so on.
It should also be noted that the various logic and/or functions disclosed herein may be enabled using any number of combinations of hardware, firmware, and/or as data/instructions embodied in various machine-readable or computer-readable media, in terms of their behavioral, register transfer, logic component, and/or other characteristics. Computer-readable media in which such formatted data and/or instructions may be embodied include, but are not limited to, non-volatile storage media in various forms (e.g., optical, magnetic or semiconductor storage media), though does not include transitory media such as carrier waves.
Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and the like are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to an exclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in a sense of “including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or plural number also include the plural or singular number respectively. Additionally, the words “herein,” “hereunder,” “above,” “below,” and words of similar import refer to this application as a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. When the word “or” is used in reference to a list of two or more items, that word covers all of the following interpretations of the word: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and any combination of the items in the list.
Although certain presently preferred implementations of the invention have been specifically described herein, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art to which the inventions pertain that variations and modifications of the various implementations shown and described herein may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the innovations herein. Accordingly, it is intended that the inventions be limited only to the extent required by the applicable rules of law.
Shu, Lee-Lean, Huang, Mu-Hsiang, Chuang, Patrick
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